


Critical Resilience

by EleCurter



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Altered Mental States, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Drug Use, Explicit Sexual Content, Family, Forbidden Love, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Homophobia, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Mutilation, Slow Burn, Transvestite, Turk Cloud Strife, Unhealthy Relationships, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:00:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28352850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EleCurter/pseuds/EleCurter
Summary: [Alternate Universe]Final Fantasy VII, 1938.A total war threatened Gaia. In Midgar, the population were far from these concerns and hailed every ShinRa's achievement. To defend its ideals, ShinRa relied on its elite soldiers. In the shadows, the company recruited children and orphans to serve it. Cloud Strife, Turk faithfully carrying out orders, watched over a strange orphanage and its red-haired owner.
Relationships: Reno/Cloud Strife
Comments: 10
Kudos: 24





	1. Hiding in a treasure chest

**Author's Note:**

> **DISCLAIMER** : This work takes place in an alternate universe, which means that your fav' characters will sometimes be out of their characters and will turn the way I need them to build my story. The whole cast of FF7 will be implicate and if one character appears as an antagonist, does bad things, spends a bad time, doesn't mean I don't like the character himself.

**The Void**

_They’ll say, no one can see us  
That we’re estranged and all alone  
They believe nothing can reach us  
And pull us out the boundless gloom_

_[MUSE - The Void]_

… He was standing in the pouring rain, crouching between shipping crates stored on the docks. His hands were covered in blood. The blood of his street comrades who fell earlier. They were lying, face down, inert. Run away from this cursed city. The boat promising them a one-way trip to freedom was docked. 

The click of a gun being reloaded reached his ears and, before he even had time to turn around, a gloved hand appeared. His head was pressed violently against the metal hooping of the crate near which he had found refuge. The pressure on his temple forced him to look at the massacre at his feet. The cold barrel of the revolver nestled on the back of his neck.

It was all his fault. His body paralyzed. He desperately closed his eyelids and tried with all his might to erase the bloody canvas from his mind. The bile had already risen up his esophagus and stagnated in his throat. While the muzzle snaked up his back and crept under his shirt near his left flank before firing… 

The teenager awoke and opened his eyes to the supposed bang. Lightning had hit very close. He ran a weary hand over his pale, sweaty face, a resigned sigh escaping his lips. Would they meet the same fate? The summer storm raged over the modest establishment. He stared at the ceiling and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. Inconceivable, it was only a nightmare. He listened to the rain pouring down on the roof. Appreciated the thunder rumbling then moved slowly over his shoulder to continue his night's sleep and fall back to sleep. 

A series of lightning flashed for a brief moment every corner of the small upstairs bedroom. The light revealing a dozen pairs of eyes fixed on him. The young man sat up abruptly on his bed. Reached out to light his bedside lamp gropingly.

“What ... you doin’!?”

“Renoooo, we're scared!” Breathed a thin voice from the doorway. 

The mentioned Reno turned his back on the assembly, crouching fiercely against his pillow.

“Yeah, yeah… go back to bed.” 

“Can we sleep with you?” Asked a childish voice near his ear.

“Nope.“ 

“Sleep with us.” Others insisted at the side of the bed.

Reno took a deep breath to contain his desire to kick the children out of his room. He then whispered in a drawl as he swung his legs off the bed. 

“I'm coming with you downstairs.” 

The children came out in single file and a general clamor, almost forgetting the purpose of their visit, and headed down the stairs. Reno patted Reeve on the head. The little boy, who stayed back in the hallway, sobbed without releasing the teddy bear in his arms. Making sure Reeve was following them downstairs, Reno escorted the kids to the old reserve converted in a dormitory.

In the back of the room, the older children were hanging from the windows to admire the spectacle offered by the lightning which crossed the sky and the detonations of thunder. Almost all the kids had deserted the wooden crates made into makeshift beds, arranged along the walls. This room had been set up like this long before Reno was born and had housed countless children. Orphans were numerous in times of war. 

In having inherited and being in charge of the place, Reno had contented himself with perpetuating the tide of goodwill of the deceased owner. He struggled to make his way to the windows to draw the curtains and cried out to overwhelm the enthusiasm.

“Those who want to watch the storm, in the kitchen. Those who want to sleep, stay here!”

A crowd of boys hurried out of the room before the younger ones who had woken him slipped into their beds. 

“You stay too!” A voice protested to his right. 

Unfortunately the storm wasn't about to end and Reno growled bitterly as he slid down a wall to keep an eye on them. 

“I'm staying…” 

“Reno, you move a lot in your sleep. You’re afraid of the storm too!” Jessie had come and sat down next to Reno and was watching him with her big brown eyes. The teen pushed the girl away, and she went back to her bed at the other end of the dorm.

“At least I stay in my bed during storms.” Reno remained seated and dozed until he fell asleep again. 

The previous owner allowed the orphans overnight shelter, but he also offered them dishes. Reno woke up painfully long before dawn and pushed his numb back away from the wall he had leaned against to sleep. Then he looked down in a grimace at the two children curled up under his arms and slumped against his sides. Jessie and Reeve. The girl had her arm on Reno's stomach and the boy still had wet cheeks.

Had he cried again that night? Reeve had been found by the four fellows, Rufus, Tseng, Elena and Rude… in the fields; in tears. It had been several months since Reeve had joined the group, but Reno had never known a day that he hadn't started to cry. Irrational fears most of the time, but crying everyday. So much so that Reno had saved up several weeks to take the boy to see a country doctor while presenting him as his little brother.

Nothing unnatural according to him, Reeve was a more sensitive child than average. A diagnosis made by a charlatan had thought Reno, nevertheless he was reassured. 

All the children were sleeping. He managed to get rid of the two kids without waking them, then left, making sure not to run over anyone. His first task of the day was to prepare breakfast. In the kitchen, he boiled water for tea and scattered slices of bread and chunks of cheese on the long table in the center of the room. For his part, he confined himself to the rest of the loaf of bread by stuffing it into his mouth and slipped into another room, established on the same landing as the kitchen and the makeshift dormitory, the tailoring workshop. 

He settled himself on a stool and leaned against the large cutting table, resting his forehead against his forearms for a few more minutes of rest. He was dozing among scraps of cloth and pieces of fabric previously cut to make a waistcoat, his two employees were to arrive soon. He massaged his aching kidneys from his night on the floor and jumped to his feet. 

This morning, he had to finalize a few orders for his customers and arrange delivery of other items. These were done by the children in exchange for 5 gil each. Reno leaned over a board to manage the rotations for the races to be completed during the day, the children always were leaving at three. He finally selected two trios. Today it will be…

The kitchen was gradually invaded by the children who were having their breakfast. They were unleashed in a heated debate around the big table.

Elena was the first to express her opinion and pointed to an absent Reno at the other side of the table. “Say ... Do you think the marks on Reno's face are battle marks?” 

Rufus shrugged when Tseng contributed by shaking his head. “Elena… you really see him fighting against someone?” 

Cid slammed his fists on the table to draw all the attention to himself. “I know! He was a criminal, he served time in jail. They burned him in the face to remind him of his crimes!” 

Tifa crossed her arms sternly and shook her head, staring coldly at the boy. “Reno hasn't committed any crime, he's too kind to do that!” 

Jessie rested her chin between her palms and leaned on the table. “He got tattoos, that makes him so unique…”

Yuffie pressed two fingers to her cheeks and mimicked the application of color. “War paints to make himself more impressive, after all he is small for a man.” 

Genesis cut off the girl with a calm voice. “No, no war paint. He's a queer, he wears makeup.” The younger ones stared at Genesis confusedly without understanding the term he had used to quantify Reno. Sephiroth slapped the insolent teenager on the back of the head and immediately challenged. “He's dating Alice.”

Biggs suggested in turn, vaguely pointing to the location of the workshop. "He injured himself with a machine or scissors during his work, that's why he forbids us to enter there." Wedge swallowed up several pieces of the cheese he had in his mouth. "Both sides the same, really?! »

Aerith wrinkled her nose nervously and confessed in a clear voice. “I think he doesn't want to talk about it, he tries to hide it with his hair.” Reeve nodded, clinging to Aerith's arm.

Kyle took over and raised his finger. “He is enrolled in a sect where they worship the crescent moon! What do these symbols look like?”

Rude remained true to himself and did not speak.

It was Barret's turn, who boasted. “Reno lost a bet that went awry and got a tattoo. He will never admit it!” 

Jessie took up the torch. “You think there are others elsewhere? I mean, on the body. I want to see them.” 

Angeal rolled his eyes, exasperated by the incessant chatter. “Jessie, if you want to see him naked, take him to the lake for a swim or spy on him when he takes a bath.”

“Heurk…” 

“It's already time, come on.” The children got up and left the place, the older ones went to school while the younger ones played outside.

In the afternoon, Reno would work in the store and collect the amount of a transaction from a customer. Aerith took advantage of the busy teenager coming out of the back room and slipped behind the counter where she grabbed the bottom of the customer's jacket to get his attention. 

The girl was accompanied by Reeve who was holding her hand and she tried to imitate Reno. “Sir, have you already taken the delivery form? It’s fast and secure!” 

Reno's eyes widened at the sound of the too familiar voice and he turned around almost dropping the package he was holding in his arms. He hastened to gesture to the door at the back of the store, waving his hand to chase the two children away. 

He watched the two kids walk away with amused laughter and put the package on the counter with an exasperated sigh. “Sorry.” 

“Brother and sister?” Were the only words of the man.

Reno bustled to open the package which contained various fabrics and brocades, all in dark colors, and presented them to his client. “No, just children from the neighborhood or from the slums… But here, consider them as the couriers of your tailor.” 

“Ah?” Cloud had only seen two children though, were there any more?

Reno continued in a detached voice and took note of the chosen fabrics. “You have to do a demanding job, this is the fifth costume you bought yourself in three weeks ... You are one of my most regular customers.” The young man now had his nose plunged into his register in which he recorded the orders of his customers and the sales made. Not that the man's business concerned or even interested him, he was just trying to be courteous like any good trader.

Cloud stared at him with a narrowed look of suspicion at his finding and didn't deign to respond until Reno looked up from the notebook. “The little ones are right, I can assure you a delivery service for the next order if it suits you. It will be ready for August 11th.”  
  
Cloud shook his head and immediately declined the offer. Reno contented himself with escorting his client out of the modest shop then he went out after him, screaming in amazement at the scene outside. 

Boys between the ages of five and twelve stormed the vehicle parked a few feet from the storefront. One of the children had managed to climb the hood of the car on his own and stood proudly in front of his accomplices, his fists on his hips then claimed aloud that the property now belonged to him, collecting some spitting from others than he skilfully avoided. 

They all scampered away at the sight of Reno, leaving behind the black body strewn with fingerprints and muddy hands as the teen yelled at them, fist raised, calling them back.

The owner of the vehicle walked around the 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Highway Courier before turning to Reno and scathing. “Any other couriers?” 

“Uh ... probably, but not all!” Reno took a step back to gauge the extent of the damage and scratched the back of his neck while considering compensation.

“There is no breakage.” The man made a heroic effort to appear detached or unaffected, but he just didn't succeed and conceded bitterly. “Anyway, I have to get it cleaned.”

Reno walked back into the store, although the vehicle had already been polished, he was sure of it, and came out holding out a small box. 

It contained a cloth handkerchief, the young man just couldn't sell them. The item in question was certainly out of fashion and dated back to when his old uncle was still alive, if he could at least get rid of it that way.

“They won't do it again, my apologies for the inconvenience.” Reno announced in one go and stormed through the shop to his workshop.

The blond man took a seat at the wheel of his car, a glint of irony in his eyes. He was obviously planning to come back here on August 11, anyway he never had anything better to do on this singular day.

  



	2. Too hotheaded to be scared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER** : This work takes place in an alternate universe, which means that your fav' characters will sometimes be out of their characters and will turn the way I need them to build my story. The whole cast of FF7 will be implicate and if one character appears as an antagonist, does bad things, spends a bad time, doesn't mean I don't like the character himself.

Reno entered the workshop without a sound. Then he slammed the door behind him while startling the two women who worked diligently there. He immediately regretted his behavior. He sped straight up on a stool and leaned on his workbench to put a good face, as he felt the eyes on him. He hated that kind of attention.

The younger employee left her sewing machine and approached the teenager, leaning over him. “Reno, what’s going on?” 

The redhead said nonchalantly. “We lost a client today.” He played with the crank of the steering wheel on his own sewing machine to escape the next interrogation.

“Explain yourself.”

Getting no response, she insisted and grabbed his shoulder to spin him around on his stool. “Has this client made a claim?”

“He will probably send us one and claim a lot a lot a lot of interest! I don't want to pay ...” Reno pushed back the garment he was supposed to be working on. He crossed his arms on the table and nestled his forehead in it, muttering to himself. “..what an idea to come here with such a car, it is an attraction in itself. He can't provide himself at the center like everyone else, that idiot.” 

Alice looked with a hint of playful amusement at Reno who was dramatizing. She rested her elbows on the shoulders of the slumped young man. Wisely waiting for him to give in and deign to explain the facts to her.

She couldn't help but laugh at his growl as she took a seat on the edge of the workbench. “It's strange that he comes this far to dress. I think he lives in the center, yet Midgar has many tailors.” 

Reno had his chin propped up in his fist and whispered in an absent voice. “I don't know, I don't care. If all the old people here keep dying and we can't keep or attract new customers, we will close.” 

His words caughts the attention of the other employee and he sealed his lips under her disapproving gaze. Fearing he would be reprimanded for that. 

Most of their clientele were regulars from the time of its predecessor. The village no longer attracted anyone and people now preferred to settle in Midgar. Reno had two employees who worked in the tailoring workshop. He helped them from time to time. But his role was mainly to make adjustments or retouching as well as manage the orders and the transactions in the store. 

Alice took advantage of her mother leaving the room and then grabbed Reno by the arm, glad to have him to herself. 

“Alice, we should get back to work before she gets angry.”

“Not until you tell me when you plan to take me on a picnic. You promised me this spring and it never came to fruition.” Now Alice had her arms around the neck of the young man who was turning his back to her as he pivoted on his stool.

“I don't remember. But you know we're going to have a lot of work, people are going to come back from vacation and...”

“Hey, paid vacation. You have to give us some and you'll have to shut down Reno.” She chuckled over the crimson tangle of Reno's hair without releasing her grip. 

“ Don't know… Let me go.”

“Which means that you too will have free time.” 

“If I tell you one day at random, you intend to release me?” 

She nodded vigorously.

Reno had no time to formulate a date when a heavy cough made Alice jump five steps back. She was returning from the reserve to make an inventory of the stocks. The teenager turned around with a sneer before being disillusioned at the old woman. She was furiously waving documents in her hand. 

She rolled her eyes in front of her daughter, couldn't bear to see her so dissipated at work then turned to Reno. “The merchandise for linings has not been delivered. The package was most likely stolen while on its way to the post office.” 

She handed him the documents and he mumbled. “I'll take care of it tomorrow morning.” 

Leaving the village in the late afternoon was vain. By the time he reached Midgar all businesses would be closed. 

The next morning, Reno took care to prepare the breakfast table before leaving the house. He walked past the storefront and under the wrought iron sign, 'Sinclair' eh, he had been by that name for ... five years now or more. To get to Midgar town, Reno had to walk about fifteen minutes before reaching the rail station. He found a seat in the last car and dozed off on the wooden bench. He got off at the central station and he had to walk again to get to the docks. His merchandise was not stuck at the post office but at the depot.

Reno stealthily poked his head through the half-open doors of the depot. The building stretched over a hundred yards, and no one in sight. He squeezed in and pulled out the crumpled document from the bottom of his pocket. He walked haphazardly among the shelves that rose to the warehouse ceiling. Then to the row indicated on his slip before discovering his precious crate on one of the shelves.

“What are you doing?”

Reno turned back to the employee who had accosted him and waving his document under the man's nose. “Came to pick up my merchandise that you were supposed to deliver.”

“Please follow me, sir …” The man had already turned on his heels without looking at the paper. 

“Wait! My merchandise is right here!” 

The man finally took note of the document indicating the location of the package and sighed. He climbed a stepladder to reach the wooden crate that Reno hastened to retrieve at arm's length. 

“Allegedly stolen during its delivery eh… my ass.” 

“Follow me, I will have you sign the receipt and you can leave with it.” The employee walked to the far end of the long warehouse to guide Reno. Regretting not to have been faster, he followed the man anyway.

The man opened the door to what appeared to be an office, letting Reno walk past him. Then closed it in a snap before turning the lock from the outside.  
“Asshole..?” 

Reno narrowed his eyes to get used to the darkness of the room. And, before he had time, he fell clumsily against the door after being punched in the jaw. Reno brings a hand to his eyes as he is dazzled by the daylight. The curtains now open, revealing a man wearing suspenders and fully dressed in blue. A soldier here. Reno put his other hand on the crate which had fallen miserably at his feet.

“What do we have here?” The mercenary chuckled in advance at the sight of the short man. “This one won't be hard to impress.” His underground work suited him perfectly. The Third Class Soldier had been officially assigned here to supervise the merchandise imported by Shinra. The warehouse manager had offered him an extra job, killing two birds with one stone. The depot employees diverted and resold the marchandise they estimated at good prices without fear of reprisals from now on. “Hey kid, you will kindly sign the register here, that's why you came and you are going to leave me this nice crate.”

Reno sat on the floor, massaging the side of his jaw which was already covered with a purplish bruise. While his free arm instinctively wrapped around the iron-rimmed crate. He sniffed furiously before getting up and lifting the crate to cross the room under the soldier's mocking gaze. The soldier was proud of the effect he had on the young man.

Instead of stopping towards the desk, Reno smashed a window pane with the corner of the crate. The box was thrown to the docks at the foot of the building. Reno turned, defying the man with a look. 

“I paid for it, I'm leaving with this.” Reno stood behind the desk to stay out of the mercenary's reach. He pointed to the door and continued in a calm voice. “Let me go and I'll shut up your business.” 

Unfortunately for Reno, the mercenary was nimble and he leapt forward, over the desk. The man was a soldier, he had his uniform anyway. Reno managed to escape by leaping to the side and leaned against the door again, having no furniture left to stand in the way.

“That's not what's on my contract. The merchandise stays and the customers leave alive or dead. The only thing that matters is the condition of the merchandise.”

“Your merchandise is outside, just let me go …” The teenager sighed, he was realistic and knew he was unlucky in the face of a ShinRa Soldier. 

He was preparing for another attack, by being ready to dodge. He leaned to his left side before the mercenary pinned him by the collar of his shirt and smashed him violently against a wall. 

Reno gasped in surprise and once the shock was over, bent his leg back before hitting between the man's legs with the heel of his shoe. The mercenary released his grip and stepped back, holding his aching member with one hand. 

Now there were two options for Reno to escape. The door was still locked from the outside, all that remained was to try to open the window. He took a few strides to reach her before collapsing heavily on the floor, face down. 

The Soldier threw himself on him and belted him at the waist. Then he grabbed the teenager in the back of his head to lift it off the ground. “You son of a bitch.” He tightened his grip on the mass of red hair, ready to smash Reno’s head against the concrete floor. 

Reno pulled himself up onto his arms in an attempt to straighten up and avoid being knocked to the ground. Receiving a knee kick in the ribs, he rolled onto his back, writhing in pain and crossed his arms over his side as he tried to sit up. 

The mercenary placed his knee on Reno's chest, leaning on it with all his weight to hold it in place. He leaned forward to delight the anguished eyes of the young man. “You tried to castrate me, I'll return the favor, cockroach!” He pulled a knife from his pocket, running the blade along the Reno pants with the intention of obtaining justice. 

Reno stirred in the grip and the imminent fate that awaited him. Failing to push him away, he reached out his clenched fingers to claw at the mercenary’s face. While he plunged the knife into the teenager's thigh. 

Reno cried out, unable to see or feel where the blade had ended its course. The soldier barred Reno's mouth with a gloved hand to stifle his cry of pain. Appreciating the silence that reigned in the room as the mercenary literally got off at the sight of the young man. Specially the wet eyes of Reno who was still trying to suppress his moans and tears in search of dignity. 

Dignity. Even if it meant dying for nothing, he wanted to have a bit. 

The mercenary seemed to notice for the first time the tattoos that lined the teenager's cheekbones. And with his free hand he caught Reno by the chin to turn his face to either side and admire the picture. “Well, well, what have we here? They are symmetrical and you have two legs, my contribution is incomplete.”

Frantic bangs on the door brought the soldier out of his amusement. Three quick hits followed by two slower, told him that a much more expensive commodity was to be negotiated. Those of Reno were less. 

He leaned over the teen and whispered without removing the hand that forced him to be silent. “I'll let you go, I have work, it was a pleasure. You're warned for the next time, just sign wisely.”

Reno opened his eyes wide, The man let him go on without killing him after everything he had heard and seen. He did not have time to ask any questions. He was already hoisted to his feet by the soldier and pushed through a back door hidden in one of the walls of the office and leading directly to the docks. 

Reno walked dragging his injured leg and looked up at the window pane broken. Clenching the teeth in contained rage, he saw the curtains drawn again and knew the room was once again dark. Another would possibly suffer the same fate as him or worse. 

He grabbed the still intact crate and walked away from the warehouse along the docks. He found an uncrowded location, hid between two cargo boxes and slid to the ground facing the sea. 

He kept his precious package close at hand. There was no way to have it stolen by a vulgar dock worker after almost dying out to get it.

He touched his pants with a trembling hand, while he didn’t dare look. The pain was diffuse, he feared the worst. He breathed deeply the sea air for comfort and finally looked down. He found the knife stuck in the mesh of the fabric of his blood-soaked pants. He ignored how the soldier had done for the knife was hung in the fabric. The only thing Reno remembered was he had been wiggling his legs all over the place, fearing for his descendants. 

He managed to dislodge the blade of the pants and tore the fabric to reveal the wound : the cut was clean and but shallow. The injury was on the side of the thigh.

Reno leaned against a crate while a sigh of relief and himself laughing, adrenaline that fell probably. 

Reno wedged the blade of the knife under the lid of his crate to pop it open. Then plunged her hand inside to pull out a fabric before growling. “Damn brocade… too expensive to end up in bandages.” 

He fumbled over the bottom of the box to find a less expensive fabric. He cut a gash on the edge and tore a strip the length of it. He carefully wrapped the cloth around his thigh to stop the bleeding and at the same time tried to conceal the bloody and ripped pants. He still had to cross the whole city to get home. He cut out another strip of fabric to wrap the knife inside and put it in the crate. 

He rested several minutes, inhaling the freshness of the sea breeze to regain his senses and encourage return. He will be making up some lie if Alice’s mother scolded him. He thought more and more of getting a weapon, to defend himself and be able to protect the children. He took his own pocket-knife out and pushed the blade to open. Hardly a deterrent against a Soldier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the 2nd chapter. There isn't much to say, I enjoyed writing a short fight scene. ,_, I hope you liked reading it too. 
> 
> Take care of yourself.


	3. Bloody and sweaty dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER** : This work takes place in an alternate universe, which means that your fav' characters will sometimes be out of their characters and will turn the way I need them to build my story. The whole cast of FF7 will be implicate and if one character appears as an antagonist, does bad things, spends a bad time, doesn't mean I don't like the character himself.

Back at the store, Reno hid in the hallway and stared at the closed doors of the kitchen, dormitory and workshop for a long time. Only the regular sound of sewing machines were noticeable. 

So far, he had managed to avoid the few kids playing outside, a _feat_. There was no point in alarming the two women or scaring the children. But these brats would be more curious than really worried about him. 

Given the late hour to which he returned, he didn’t want to take the risk of suffering the remonstrances from the real owner of the place. At least until he came of age. He must have stopped on the way home to eat and drink twice as he began to feel dizzy. She would scold him thinking he'd been hanging around town all day again.

Reno walked on tiptoe, at least as best he could, and set the box on the doorstep before pulling away, dragging his injured leg. He ran a hand over his livid face as he realized he had left the knife inside. When he squatted on his healthy leg to look for the package in the box, he heard movement in the workshop. 

He hastily straightened up, blood had already passed through the fabric tied around his thigh. _Shit_. He hobbled up the stairs and climbed onto the first step with a groan. False alarm, no one left the room. He gritted his teeth and with superhuman effort, he dragged himself up the stairs. 

He finally entered his room, casually threw the wrapped knife in his bedside table drawer, took some medicine and went to lock himself in the bathroom. He got down almost an hour later and made his way to the workshop, trying to keep a normal gait, he was ready to face them. 

He stopped in front of the door keeping his palm over the doorknob. He hadn't yet thought of a lie relevant enough to explain the injury to his jaw. He frowned in extreme concentration as he felt the hilt slip from his hands and found himself face to face with the old woman. 

She stared at him sternly before sighing in exasperation. “Reno, bring the goods, please.” 

He bent forward as if doing a curtsey. Without bending his legs, and lifted the crate at arm's length before entering. 

“What did you do?” Alice was still bending over the liner she was putting together. She simply asked without even noticing his bruise. 

“Uh the postal office I… fell.” Reno narrowed his eyes at his mistake and ignored the inquiring glances on him. He only wanted to go sleeping.

***

Reno cleaned the wound daily and dressed it with care, in his bedroom and unbeknownst to all. He had a tender thought to his late guardian. She kept reminding him that a finger injury from a thin pin could kill him if the wound wasn't treated properly. 

After a few days of work, he felt exhausted, but fortunately the wound was healing well. But it kept bleeding when he forced his leg or his thigh was strained too much. 

He took the time to burn his shredded and bloody pants in the kitchen wood stove. He did the same for soiled bandages when they were unrecoverable or too difficult to clean. Always making sure to do this, when the children were still asleep.

At the end of the week, he couldn't even work standing up but still found the energy to cook for the whole household. He mechanically checked that the knife was still in its place. He didn't want a kid to find it and play with it, although they weren't allowed to walk upstairs. 

Unbeknownst to his employees, Reno no longer took new orders for the next few weeks. And he pushed them away when possible. Alice and her mother finished their work in progress and he cashed all the last purchases following the deliveries made by some kids.

All orders had been fulfilled, except one. He was going to open the store one day only to allow his customer to come and retrieve it. 

Reno constantly looked down at his pants. He feared at any moment that the blood would pierce his bandage again and betray him in the sight of all. He was exhausted and couldn't continue to work normally. Even sitting on his stool, he dropped off from time to time. 

He stood up cautiously and stretched for a long time. “Alice, you were right about the paid time off… you two deserve vacation. I think closing the shop for a week or two. A little rest could be good for all us… And you’ll have your picnic.” 

It was precisely on this last point he intended to convince her. 

Alice stood up, not believing her ears, then hugged him. Taller than him, she pressed Reno to her chest as he giggled. “I'm so glad! You finally made up your mind, we'll go to the sea for this picnic.”

Reno was mirthless laughing now. With his wound. In salt water. She wanted to kill him. He discreetly looked down at his own thigh and nodded. “Yeah, yeah. The sea looks good to me, it's summer after all.” 

Alice tightened her embrace at his promise and leaned against him more. Reno clenched his teeth in apprehension as he made sure to shift his weight onto his good leg. His gaze was still on his pants. 

She grabbed him by the shoulders before taking a step back and gave the young man a sparkling gaze. He stared back at her anxiously. Fearing she would find out his secret and internally shouting _what_. 

“What's going on, Reno?” Alice was now sliding a finger down Reno's jacket, hemming her lips in a suggestive smile. 

“Nothing!” Reno blinked, ignoring what caused this sudden change in her, he hadn't done anything.

“So why are you staring between your legs when I hug you against me?” She crossed her arms, defying him with her narrow eyes.

He looked down again to make a final check, the third since the beginning of their conversation. _Phew_ , the dressing was tight enough to not bleed. He raised his eyebrows at the accusations. “Huh? You're delirious Ma’am.” 

“You just start over.”

“Leave me alone, Alice! You wear me out!”

She chuckled visibly satisfied and Reno eyed her, opening his mouth in exasperation. Quickly, Alice told the news to her mother, fearing without any doubt that he changed his mind in the meantime. The old woman didn't object, almost reassured that Reno was taking time for himself as well.

Alice and her mother lived inside Midgar. At least he was guaranteed not to have them underfoot for the next few days until the famous picnic. He finally set out a random day of the second week, praying to some goddess that he would be well by then.

***

Now the wound seemed to heal more slowly and the skin on his thigh was hot and painful to the touch. Suspecting infection, Reno stubbornly refused to call a doctor or go to hospital. He had just finished the bandage on his upper thigh and was about to go to bed. 

He gathered his medical supplies to put them away under his bed before observing the small piece of gauze that was left in his hand. He would send one of the kids to buy some for him. But which one to make sure he wasn't overwhelmed with intrusive questions? Too late to think about it now. However, he would miss some when he woke up. 

He left his room, went downstairs discreetly and listened, no noise, all the children were asleep. He groped his way down the dark corridor, then saw a ray of light filtered under the kitchen door. But he didn't stop to verify the source, almost grateful that he could find his way around. 

He managed to reach the door of the reserve then succeeded in opening after several tries. He turned on the light and began to search for a scrap of thin and light fabric, going out with a piece of cotton under his arm. 

Reno took a few steps before collapsing onto the hallway floor, scaring the boys playing cards in the kitchen in the dead of night. 

Sephiroth stepped out first and lit up the shapeless mass sprawled on his stomach with his lantern. A recent acquisition to continue their card games with discretion. He motioned for his playmate to come out, while Barret crouched next to Reno. Although the boy was much younger than Reno, he was as tall as him and damn well built for his age.

Barret managed to hoist him onto his legs, pinning his arm over his shoulder then turning to Sephiroth. “What do we do with him?” 

Sephiroth raised the lantern to light up Reno's sweaty face then spoke pompously and taunted him. “It all depends, if _Sir_ allows us to enter his room.” 

“Authorization granted…” Reno bit his lower lip to contain a stinging retort to Sephiroth. But he preferred to spend the night in his bed rather than on the floor.

Barret pushed Reno into his bed with a little more force than he would have wanted. The two boys watched over him for a moment, unsure of what to do as he seemed to have fallen asleep without warning. 

Reno suddenly raised his head and pointed to the door with an outstretched finger, giving them a nervous smile. “Go to bed now! You are not telling anyone about this incident and I will allow your nightly card games.” 

The two boys looked at each other, not interested in the deal proposed by Reno. Sephiroth finally spoke as he approached the bed. “Reno, you saw your face?”

“What!”

“You’re scary to see.” Barret took off the little mirror attached to the door and placed it in front of Reno : his complexion was paler, his skin glistened. 

Reno pushed back the mirror, remaining sprawled on his bed and hid his face against the pillow before protesting. “I always look better than Wedge after he ate those rotten eggs. I must have eaten something not fresh too. Getting a good night's sleep and I'll be fine… Now go to sleep.” 

***

Cloud Strife showed up at the store on the agreed date, August 11. He had decided to come pick up his last order before going to the office. Today he had taken these precautions, his car was parked outside the village. On the short walk, he didn’t meet a single child in the street except for a few rare inhabitants, old people. 

He pushed open the door, ringing the chime announcing the presence of a customer and approached the counter. He saw on the furniture, a package bearing his name but no tailor in sight to give it to him or collect his payment. 

Aerith was curled up in an armchair, installed in a corner of the store. She hugged Reeve as the two children cried. Cloud walked over to the two children without saying anything. Both were both too affected to notice his presence. 

He returned to the counter, always looking for the tailor when his attention was attracted by the commotion from the back-room. He approached the door and opened it slightly. He saw a horde of young kids pass through the room and up the stairs, hearing snippets of their conversation. 

He decided to go in and then bumped into a girl with long dark hair, tearful eyes who stammered with a confused voice. “H-he didn't eat what I cooked for him…” 

Cloud caught her by the shoulders, shaking her lightly and he huffed harder than he would have liked. “What's happening here?” 

Tifa brought her hands to her teary eyes to wipe them away, sniffing loudly and whispering in a twitching voice. “He doesn't get up… He died. I don't want to.” 

“Is one of the kids sick?” 

Tifa suddenly burst into tears without being able to articulate another word. Cloud loosened his grip in spite, he was dealing with a kid after all, what he sincerely hoped to get out of it. 

He ventured up the stairs, pushing another child out of his way who got scared when he saw him before running off. He sighed discomfort of having to waste time in this menagerie so early in the morning. He finally made his way to an open door and listened to the discussions taking place inside what appeared to be a bedroom.

A group of boys consisting of Sephiroth, Barret, Cid, and Wedge shook Reno by the shoulders, taking turns scolding and insulting him. 

“Reno, don't fuck around and open your eyes.”

“You, look for a fucking doctor.” 

“Go to town or try calling ... you know the number?”

“He told us no doctor.” “When?” “Last night…” 

“But he's dying, if he isn’t already dead.”

At these words Barret gave a desperate try and he slapped Reno in an attempt to wake him up, making a red mark on the young man's cheekbone. Obviously the redhead didn’t regain consciousness despite their attempts. 

Cloud didn't even bother to announce himself when he entered the room. He took off one of his leather gloves to let his hand swing and soar above Reno's pale and waxy face. His breath was weak, but he was still breathing. 

“Hey, who are you?! Where are you coming from!”

He took Reno's wrist, checking for a pulse. He had to hurry, given his sweaty skin, waxy complexion and high temperature. The infection could quickly worsen his condition. Cloud said monotonously without bothering to answer the questions put to him. “I'll drive him to the hospital. Watch the other kids while he's gone.” 

“What !? He said he didn't want to!” 

“Mmh…” Cloud put his glove back on, arching his eyebrows to what he took for a whim from the young man. “He'll be fine, reassure others.”

Cloud quickly removed the blanket to reveal Reno's lifeless body. He wore a half-buttoned shirt with the fabric clinging to his sweaty skin, and simple pants, probably his work clothes from the day before. Cloud grabbed him under the armpits and under the joints of the knees to lift him in his arms. He looked at the bed sheets on which was printed a dark shape formed by sweat, exactly where Reno rested a moment earlier. It wasn’t a good sign. 

Cloud hurried out of the house holding the frail body in his arms, somewhat disconcerted by the ease with which he carried it. He hadn't imagined the man so thin. In fact, Reno complexed and sometimes cheated to hide this aspect under jackets and well-trimmed jackets. Cloud settled Reno on the passenger seat of his car and hastened to pick up a blanket in the trunk. Blanket that was spread over the man who had collapsed on himself.

Cloud rushed back to Midgar, crossing a part of the city and moving away from it. He took the initiative to bring Reno in a private clinic rather than the hospital. The establishment was further away, but he remained confident that Reno would receive better care. Glancing occasionally the redhead sitting next to him and slumped against the door. Cloud stared at his hair stuck to his skin clammy with his feverish fever, drops of sweat beading on his dead face. 

He stopped the car then turned to his passenger. The Turk ran a hand over his forehead to brush back the red strands covering his face and checked his breathing again. He charged Reno against his chest as he rushed into the clinic hall. Cloud demanded that the man was examined by his doctor, the one usually occupied to treat his colleagues or himself. 

***

Cloud was present when he woke up after waiting and getting the doctor's diagnosis. Sepsis, caused by her superficial sore on her thigh. Reno was going to have to stay in bed and spend several weeks recovering. 

Reno painfully opened his eyelids, unable to make out the blond man sitting at the back of the room. He was completely out of phase with the drugs administered to him and he whispered weakly. His first words since his admission to the clinic were intended for them. 

“They’re fine.” Cloud had absolutely no idea, and he didn't care about their fate. 

He probed Reno's sleeping face, getting no further response from him. He felt that his answer suited the man. Reno remained true to himself, even when he was diminished. Cloud retired smiling imperceptibly.

***

A few weeks later, he decided to visit him. Reno could now stay awake and was no longer constantly stunned by his treatment. Cloud gave him a report about the store and about the employees who had returned to work. 

Reno didn't know how the man had done to prevent it from being confined to bed in a common room with other patients. Just for that he was grateful to him, in addition to everything else. And the man's presence at his bedside totally intrigued him, did he still want to get his car repaired? 

Cloud sat on a chair pulled close to the bed after finishing his report and he conceded. “How can you house and feed so many people?” 

Reno proudly raised his chest, although he was still lying down and he swept his hair off his shoulder to scatter it on the pillow before speaking. “I’m a victim of my success, I would say! I definitely have to be a good host. There were three at the start. By word of mouth, they’re quickly becoming fifteen or more. I stopped counting after ten. The former employee, my guardian, was already feeding other children, orphans too. She was already doing this in the previous owner's time, although he didn't support her at first, but he ended up helping her. That was her who taught me how to cook and …”

Even on a hospital bed, Reno could strut around and talk continuously. He probably lacked a roommate to hold the floor. Or maybe it was the drugs that untied his tongue.

“That’s not... ”

“Wait! My dear employees are complaining and confessing to you? If I can, they should too.” Reno rolled his eyes, although he was fully aware that taking care of those brats wasn't part of their employment contracts.

Cloud replied in a detached tone. “You miss them. To children, I mean.”

Reno simply smiled and stared at the ceiling, somewhat embarrassed before whispering in a faint voice. “As long as they don't set fire to the house.” 

The man in the full suit said nothing and continued with indifference. “The sepsis was spread through the injury to your thigh. Wound caused by a cold steel stabbing.”

Reno's eyes clouded at the mention of his injury. The mercenary had succeeded well. He alone knew how many men he had eviscerated with this weapon before sticking it in his thigh. He had nevertheless taken care to clean his wound several times a day. He didn’t intend to admit failure, even less to a stranger. 

He felt sufficiently humiliated to have been found in this state. He finally whispered. “Oh that? It was an accident, a tailor's scissors...” 

Cloud noticed the terse response and the way the man squinted his eyes, curling his lower lip in a pout, made him a terrible liar. 

“Replace it in this case, it would be unfortunate if someone else gets hurt in turn.”

“I will.”

“...”

Reno stared at a point in space and slowly crossed his arms while he squeezed himself against his pillow. He didn’t intend to fill the silence established by his interlocutor.

A noise split the air. 

Cloud pulled a Karambit knife from the inside pocket of his jacket and twirled it around his finger with the buckle adorning the extremity of the handle. The iridescent reflections of the curved blade immediately caught Reno's gaze, which froze. 

Cloud smirked disdainfully and hissed, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Surprisingly, a tailor's scissors causes the same injury as the tusk knives of our soldiers and wounds of the same width.” 

Yes, the same knife was in Reno's room. Knife that was still wrapped in a piece of cloth and carefully stored in the drawer of his bedside table, Reno didn’t flinch.

Cloud continued a bit more lightly, continuing to twirl the knife in his hand. “They all come out of our weapons factory in ShinRa.”

Reno looked away from the knife when he heard the name of the organization, ignoring the links the man had with her or the military, but it didn't bode well. 

Cloud closed his grip on the handle to present the flat of the blade to Reno and reveal a series of numbers and letters engraved on the edge of the blade. “At first glance, you might think they’re all the same. But we can easily trace it back to its owner, here is mine.”

Reno squinted at the inscription and was silent. 

Cloud stealthily put his gun back in its sheath before leaving the room. “Take care of yourself.”

Reno nodded mechanically continuing to stare at the now empty chair and he frowned as he realized he knew nothing of the man in question, apart from its name and measurements. The man had talked about the ShinRa and the army, however he wasn’t wearing a soldier's uniform and always looked neat and tidy. 

He slowly lowered the sheets that covered him before lifting a section of his nightgown and revealing his thigh. He couldn't even remember what his own wound looked like. It was neatly covered by bandages and he didn't know how Cloud had seen it. No, when and how he had been able to study it in such detail and so closely. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tutututu. I tried my best, here is chapter 3.


	4. Lock in an empty room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER** : This fic takes place in an alternate universe, which means that your fav' characters will probably be out of their characters and will turn the way I need them to build my story. The whole cast of FF7 will be implicate and if one character appears as an antagonist, does bad things, spends a bad time, doesn't mean I don't like the character himself or disrespect the original work.

Reno was lying on his bed staring at the white bedroom's wall in deep thought. He still oscillated between short moments of lucidity and intense phases of drowsiness. 

He was vaguely thinking of the day before. His last appointment with the doctor who said Strife had undoubtedly saved his life or had spared him to live with serious sequelae. As if the humiliation suffered wasn’t degrading enough, he was harshly and severely argued by the nurses for refusing to consult before. He didn't like doctors and he had his own reasons.

The young man continued to float in his thoughts, biting the inside of his cheeks. Now looking up at the equally immaculate ceiling. If he wanted to avoid ending up in the hands of a doctor once again, he needed a weapon to defend himself. He was fundamentally convinced. 

Since his assault at the postal depot and before being stuck in this room, he had avoided the children from approaching the sector and the docks for a delivery or an errand. He even forbade the older of them to explore the area on their trips to town without telling them the real reasons. And now, he feared to have aroused their curiosity with his stupid recommendations. 

How to get a gun when he gets out of here? No Midgar merchant would sell him one at his age. He still had the option of buying one in the slums, but he had never set foot there. And according to rumors, one had to be armed before entering if one hoped to come back alive. Bad plan. He had one last solution and this one displeased him greatly. He had no desire to see him, but he was the only person with whom he could negotiate.

Reno continued to stare at the ceiling with his brows furrowed in extreme concentration without noticing the presence of a woman sitting next to the bed. He didn't until she got up and slid her hand down his cheek to pull him out of his thoughts. 

“… Uh?” After a moment of hesitation, Reno whispered huskily. “Alice?”

The young woman smiled at his evasive tone and settled back into the chair saying. “You look dizzy. I would put it down to medications. I thought you were still sleeping as... every time I came to visit you.” 

“If my eyes are open, I am not sleeping!” He narrowed his eyes in anger or guilt as he had no idea how long she had been waiting here.

“You were…” She changed her mind and shook her head in vain. Yet she had been sitting there for almost an hour without him seeing her. “You scared me, Reno. You scared all of us.” With these words, she gently placed her palm on the back of his hand which was resting on the edge of the bed. 

And in answer, Reno slumped further against the pillow, blowing on a red strand of his bangs which cover his eyes. Without looking at her, he continued to blow on his wick, just for fun. He didn't want to feel guilty or have to justify himself. Suddenly stopping, he wondered what his hairs must look like after a few days in bed, the sight must be frightening.

She tightened her grip on his hand to bring him to his senses and Reno spoke slowly. “Your mom… probably. No. She must be overwhelmed by work and the kids. Because of me. I can hear so far, her shrill cries.” 

The old woman scared him. It was the same for children. The thought that they could give her a nightmare comforted him. 

A heavy silence settled down and Alice didn't raise his little attack. 

With a glance on the young woman, Reno regretted his words and his thoughts at the sight of her features probably drawn from fatigue or was it of concern? 

He hastened to add in a muddy tone. “Sorry.” 

Alice shook her head again, ignorant his apologies before resuming in a soft voice. “That man, Strife. He explained what happened. He came to visit us regularly and give us news about you. We also reopened the store and started taking orders again. 

“Ah that bastard came here too… it couldn't wait a few days? I would prefer you to enjoy your holiday to rest.” 

An even longer silence. Alice was still stroking his hand with a faded smile. 

In a sigh, Reno folded his arms to release from her grip, wondering why this simple movement cost him as much effort. “Don't give me this look, I’m not dead.” 

Clenching her teeth, she promised herself not to cry in his presence. She squeezed his wrist in her palm and her embrace was greeted with a dark gaze. “Don’t move… Reno.” 

“Fine, but stop acting like that you look awful. You were right about medic’, they drug me. I feel like shi-” 

Alice pressed a finger to his full lips to silence him. “You've only been awake for four days. The doctor says… whatever, it's a miracle ...” 

Doubt settled in his gaze then confusion lingered on his face. 

“For the store, we couldn't wait any longer. You've been here for two months Reno.”

He tried to calculate in his head, huffing agitatedly. “October… How?” He ran a hand over his forehead. Two months. No wonder his bangs had grown so much, the longest locks were reaching his chin.

Alice took advantage while Reno was once again plunged in his thoughts to hug his shoulders and tighten him against her chest, knowing exactly what tormented him. He stared at her outraged, having one leg off the bed and the other still under the sheets as he was ready to get out of here or rather run away, even if he had to crawl on the floor for it. 

“Let me fucking go… Alice. They didn't say anything, these assholes! How will I pay the fees?” 

“You can’t get up… You need rest now.”

She pressed her hands to Reno's shoulders to keep him lying down. Feeling through his blouse the protruding bones of his collarbones. This touch made her burst into tears. She pressed her forehead to the crook of his neck, sobbing. 

Listening to her crying with annoyance and not having the strength to push her away, he tried to comfort her. “Thank you for having managed the shop while I was gone… And looking after children… You’re heavy Alice.” 

“Everything will be fine Reno, I told you, that man helped us. He suspects a soldier, he explained to us that if he could determine or find the weapon that injured you, ShinRa’s company would cover all the costs related to your hospitalization.” 

The man really wanted his knife or at least traced back to its owner. And Alice took Cloud Strife for a saint or something approaching it, this idea exasperated Reno. “The bastard already knows, no longer my business.”

“Don't be slanderous. He told us what happened to you. You must promise me, you'll never again provoke a soldier.” 

“Wait, what?!” He might have been in the fog for two months, he perfectly remembered, he had never been to attack a soldier. It was he who was attacked. “That’s bullshit! I-”

A nurse came into the room after knocking on the door to announce her presence. “Mr. Sinclair, Doctor Robert is coming to see you, your fiancee can wait in the waiting room, the examination won't last long.” 

“Uh… She isn’t, not at all!” He found himself blushing at the mistake. And especially, when Alice kissed his cheek before running away, leaving him become as red as his hair. 

***

After three weeks, he finally got permission to leave the place. Alice had agreed that she would pick him up with her older brother so he can be led home by car. Reno would gladly have declined her offer but didn't dare to argue.

In a hurry to leave the room he had occupied for the past three months, Reno quickly put on the clothes Alice had brought. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he realized then that he had lost a lot of weight as his pants slipped miserably along his hips. Already he wasn't plump, now he needed to tuck the flaps of his shirt inside the pants to keep it down.

He cast a quick glance at the small table mirror and immediately turned his face away from the sight of his emaciated features and disorder that now formed his hair. He pulled them back, brushing his bangs with his fingers, it was the best he could do at the moment.

He caught his reflection one last time in the mirror before shaking his head sharply to let the long strands cover his eyes and the top half of his face. They were again hidden, these tattoos. He had explained this fantasy to Alice and her mother as a youthful mistake. The reality was quite different. 

He ran a hand on his back to touch the ponytail now down to his butt, he will shorten once back in his own room. 

In the backseat of the car, arms folded, Reno frowned and forced himself to support through his messy red hair, the piercing gaze on him. The man driving, stared at Reno from the rearview mirror of the vehicle, wondering what his sister might think of the totally scruffy teenager. They glared at each other when the man wasn't looking at the road, the trip thus lasted, without a word exchanged between them. 

The only sounds came from Alice babbling in the passenger seat and claiming that she would do everything she can to catch up their outing together when the good weather returned. 

***

Reno was working behind the counter. The door leading to the back room and the long corridor was closed. No trace of any children there.

Alice had asked them all to play outside and avoid too many noises or sudden movements around him or he could be hurt. Reno had glared at her with anger, screaming that he wasn’t made of sugar and he had collected mocking laughter from Sephiroth and Barret. Both boys painfully reminded him what condition he had left home the last time they saw him.

Reno was sitting on a stool after serving three customers in the afternoon and took a moment's break to consult the sales and order records for the past three months. 

Having recognized the black car that had stopped in front of the window, he bent down to pick up a long package and put it on the counter in front of him. When the driver stood facing him, Reno pulled a small heap of cloth from his pocket and placed it on top of the package, whispering in a drawling voice. “I haven’t touched it…”

Cloud smirked and put the packaged knife back into his jacket and paid his last buy. 

Reno cashed the amount, speaking while staring into space with mistrust. “Since you seem to have connections with the arms factory, I would like to get a weapon. To be able to defend myself or protect others.” 

Cloud darted the young man with a distant look and nodded. “Your motives seem honest to me.” 

Expecting to get a categorical rejection, Reno fidgeted nervously on the edge of his stool. He prepared to stand up to actively negotiate his request, while a grip landed on his shoulder and screwed him in place to encourage him to stay here. 

“I am pleased to see you again.”

Reno looked at the man leaving without more conversation. He leaned on the counter to wait until the end of the afternoon. Keeping the shop was the only thing Alice's mother allowed him to do, she forbade him to touch a machine until he wasn’t fully recovered. 

***

It had been a month since Reno had left the clinic and he was finally able to get out of the house. Alice's mother had finally given him a more attractive job than watching a shop that was mostly deserted. He had spent his week stitching together quilts to make blankets with the fabric scraps they had put aside and couldn’t be used in making costumes. These blankets were intended to be donated to a hospice, a necessary commodity as winter approached. Reno went to Sector Seven of Midgar, specifically in the poorest district of town.

Now on his guard when he walked into town, even more when he was away from the center. He held his package in his arms and crossed an alley before stopping when he heard the grinding of a sheathed sword on his back. 

“What are you doing here?” 

Reno gave a reluctant glance over his shoulder as he recognized the owner of that monotonous voice. “At the workshop, they told me about a hospice in the neighborhood and with winter approaching, they’re running out of blankets and sheets. And damn why should I justify my-”

Cloud cut him off immediately. “There is none here.” 

“Hey! It's not the first time I've set foot th-” Cloud exceeded Reno to stop him from walking in the alley and cut him off again. “You must leave.”

Reno clenched his teeth in a contained rage when he was interrupted again, the man wasn't good in social interactions, that fact was proved. “What's going on here?”

Reno sighed in spite at Cloud's silence, he shoved the package that contained the blankets into Cloud's hands and said coldly. “Take these, make sure they get there where they should go.” Reno waved his hand at him and left before letting the other answer or refuse his request.

Sure, he owed, perhaps, a debt to the employee of ShinRa, but that didn't allow him to control his moves. 

The next morning, Reno was slumped over his workbench, chin propped in his palm, staring out the window at the grove bordering the dirt backyard. He was taking a break… the third since the start of his working day. Alice pulled him out of his contemplation. 

“Reno, did you see what happened in sector seven?” 

“No, I don't read the papers, it's full of shit …” He furtively checked that Alice's mother wasn't around to take his slip of the tongue. 

In fact, it was a lie. Reno was looking at only one column in the local Midgar newspaper. That of the classifieds to identify their main competitors and above all, to check that the advertisement presenting the Sinclair company appeared as well. He had taken the initiative on his own to publish it after receiving several refusals from the two employees. It didn't attract more customers, but he didn't regret it. “Give it to me, i’ll read…”

“It's not in the papers.” 

“You live on the opposite side, how do you know?”

“My friend works there, the place was emptied, looted and ransacked. She was slightly injured when she tried to stop them, the same for her colleagues, some have even been killed.”

“She was unlucky, another terrorist attack or something?” 

“No, it's the militiamen…” 

“That makes no sense. Those who work for ShinRa?”

She nodded and Reno took a long time to realize that the attack occurred in the building where he supposed to go the day before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little action here. Nothing more to say :3


	5. Fingertips on my neck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER** : This fic takes place in an alternate universe, which means that your fav' characters will probably be out of their characters and will turn the way I need them to build my story. The whole cast of FF7 will be implicate and if one character appears as an antagonist, does bad things, spends a bad time, doesn't mean I don't like the character himself or disrespect the original work.

Cloud was leaning against the back of his car, arms crossed and greeted Reno with a barely noticeable nod. The older one seemed to have been waiting for a long time already. 

No kids, no prying eyes around them. Both had agreed to meet on the road, halfway between Reno's village and Midgar. The redhead had obviously come to the meeting point by walk. 

Having underestimated the distance of the course, he began to run, crossing fields and forests in an attempt to arrive on time. When he was visible from afar by Cloud, he walked instantly at a casual pace. Hardly catching his breath and now exhausted, Reno was about to justify himself.

Without asking for an explanation to him, Cloud jumped on his legs, turned and opened the trunk car. At the bottom of it, lay a dark wooden casket and on the lid was inlaid the crimson and gold badge of the ShinRa Company. 

This simple sight made Reno clench his teeth. On top of that, Cloud mustn't have taken his request seriously. The case was barely larger than a small bottle of milk, and there didn't seem to be enough space to hold a gun. 

Reno held a skeptical hand towards the box while Cloud abruptly closed the trunk's door, nearly trapping his fingers. “Get in the car.” He uttered dryly.

Reno clenched his fist firmly, having almost lost a few phalanx. He growled in a nonchalant voice. “I have enough to pay huh…”

“It's not about money. I must ensure that you have control of its handling before I give it to you.” 

Reno frowned but didn’t contest. These words made sense and Cloud hadn't even bothered to show him what kind of weapons it was. Curiosity won out, Reno reluctantly took a seat in the passenger seat without asking their destination.

Cloud was driving in heavy silence, he had taken the road in the opposite direction to Midgar. Realizing that they were moving away from the city, Reno didn't take his eyes off the way, mentally imprinting the itinerary in his mind. If for some reason he had to be abandoned on the roadside, he wanted to be able to get home on his own. 

The seashore was visible from the driver's side, which meant they were heading northeast towards the small town of Kalm. He had never been there but from what he had heard it was a quiet and uncrowded place, these simple facts reassured him.

The car suddenly bifurcated right off the road and took a dirt path, now turning its back to the sea. 

Reno winced, starting to regret getting on board. They went deeper and deeper into the countryside south, crossing now a forest, far from civilization. Wondering why he never followed the advice that he transmitted to others. Now he was going to be tortured, killed and left in the bushes. And above all it was raining heavily, better and better. 

The vehicle stopped in front of a shed owned by ShinRa, again, the company's logo was painted on the doors of the building. To be confronted with it again made him nauseous. 

Reno avoided reading newspapers for this reason. All articles related the feats and conflicts won by the powerful company based in Midgar. As far as he knew, the organization dominated the arms market for thirty years and had at its disposal an army to defend its interests and ease its expansion on the eastern continent and throughout the world. A new resource had been discovered in abundance and ShinRa wanted to be the first company to extract and especially the one to exploit this new energy. 

Besides these trivialities, he was already dealing with what his mind had obscured. All these facts dated back long before his birth and how he had learned all this? He was just listening to Alice's monologues about it or at least pretending to care. The less he heard about ShinRa, the better he was.

Reno scowled, he only wanted to collect his weapon as soon as possible and no longer had any connection with the organization. But first, he intended to ask for explanations about the events that unfolded in Sector Seven. Cloud was there, he must know. “So… Do-” 

“This place is intended for the training of ShinRa's Soldiers.” Cloud said, cutting him off.

Reno refrained from pursuing his meager attempt. He was in a secluded place and didn't want to walk home, or end up in a coffin six feet underground, if he got on the man's nerves. And speaking of Soldiers, he retained a bitter memory of his only meeting with one of them. If there were any around, that didn't bode well.

He shifted in his seat to turn to Cloud and finally declared. “I just want to test my gun and take it away, okay?” He was looking for a defensive weapon and not an offensive one. 

Cloud didn't say anything and walked out, they were here precisely for this reason. And he had found something suited to the young man's build and his expectations, a weapon that wasn't too bulky or too heavy. 

Reno in turn left the passenger seat and shuffled around the vehicle, putting a hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the rain.

Cloud handed the case to him and told him not to open it here, at least that's what Reno inferred from the blond man's cold gaze. Then he leaned over the car again and shifted two slats from the false floor which covered the bottom of the trunk. Revealing at present his Buster and with a fluid motion, placed it behind his back. 

Reno was now convinced that the weapon in the box was insignificant next to this sword. Besides, why would Cloud take it with him? Did he intend to confront him, yet he didn't represent a real threat. He continued to stare at the little case with a puzzled look before Cloud snatched it from him, turning away. 

They entered the depot, not through the large main doors, but taking the outside stairs. Both reaching the mezzanine that overlooked the warehouse and spanned the entire width of the building.

From here Reno observed the ground below: the site was muddy and wet, the ceiling and the frame were missing in places or threatened to collapse, and the rain even seeped into the building. He wondered how the soldiers could train in such a dilapidated place. The spot was deserted to his relief. 

Reno ended his inspection when he heard Cloud put the tiny case down on a table and removed the lid to reveal its contents. He, against his will, gave a tense laugh. The man had indeed not taken his request seriously. Even a dockworker's crowbar was more impressive and arguably more effective than that… stick. 

Cloud raised one eyebrow at the redhead's defeated face and grabbed the baton adorned with a leather strap into the handle end. “Discreet, light, exactly what you need. An EMR.” 

Reno continued to sulk, crossing his arms with little conviction. “A what ?”

Cloud spoke in a monotonous voice. “An Electro Magnetic Rod. Has a safety device and it becomes as harmless as a regular baton. Indispensable when you live surrounded by women and children.” 

The blond grabbed the handle of the EMR in his right hand before waving it to stretch it. “This is a telescopic weapon, easily concealable under a jacket.”

A slight crackle caught Reno's attention. Blue filaments gravitated around the metallic surface of the cylinder and captured the gaze of the young man who whispered. “How does it work?”

With a faint smile, Cloud knew he had at last Reno's attention. “The use of materia.” In front of Reno's furrowed brows, he hastened to answer. “ShinRa owns several mines across Gaia.”

Reno narrowed his eyes further on behalf of the company and Cloud felt that a demonstration was more relevant than explanations. He unscrewed the handle to expose the sphere placed inside. The materia had green highlights and seemed to glow. “This is a lightning one. Materias can be implanted on various weapons produced by ShinRa.”

“Uh… Like soldiers' knives?”

“No, they are not on these knives. You were out of luck.” 

The annoyed young man didn't deign to reply and Cloud moved near the railing of the mezzanine, declaring with a smirk. “Show me you've got it and the EMR is yours.” 

Reno walked over and leaned on the wood railing watching the baton from the corner of the eye. All he needed to do were, turn it on and shake it in all directions, nothing too complicated he thought. 

“Hit an enemy with it, and he takes an electric shock. You can also attack from a distance and launch electrified orbs to reach the target. For this parry make sure that none of your allies is in the crosshairs. And most importantly, always pay attention to the nature of the terrain on which you engage in combat…”

Reno was still leaning on the railing, sagging a bit more at each new information. Cloud concluded that a second demonstration was better than a long explanation. 

Safe by the security offered by the mezzanine, Cloud barely waved the rod and sent a bluish halo over the muddy, crevice-strewn ground filled with rainwater. The orb touched the surface of a puddle, and electricity spread over the entire area of the warehouse. 

Reno had jumped back in surprise and stepped back more face Cloud who handed him the weapon. He couldn't figure out what would have happened if a man had been caught in the electric field. He didn't want to.

Not seeing Cloud give in, Reno closed his left hand on the handle to grab the rod and internally cursed the tremors of his own arm.

ShinRa's employee crossed his arms without taking his eyes off the EMR. “Show me your skills and I'll give it to you.”

“EH? Down there !!?” Frantically, Reno was on the verge of throwing the rod down, out of reach.

Cloud walked away, letting out a low, almost inaudible laughter and pushed a wooden door, leading to another room. This one was narrower than the warehouse and above all isolated from the weather. 

Reno hesitated long and then followed him inside, he was looking at the baton, squeezing his palm tightlier on the handle with anxiety. He didn't want to confront him. The teenager had never really considered himself a seasoned fighter. He especially took advantage of his size and small build to avoid direct confrontations and dodge attacks from his opponents, stabbing from time to time to get rid of them before running off quickly...

Cloud came to stand in front of him, in the center of the room, which was completely disaffected and devoid of furniture. He had saved his life after all, he probably had nothing to fear from him. 

Cloud grabbed his sword, then slid over his shoulder in a steady, calm movement. The large blade was pointed at him and held in both hands by its owner. In riposte, Reno slipped the leather strap over his hand and held his baton front, waving his wrist so that it fully extended. He pulled the trigger as an electric surge visible with the naked eye rippled the length of the weapon. 

It was okay, Reno felt, before taking his eyes off the rippling blue threads as he saw the other man rush at him, raising his blade above his head. Reno leaped to the side avoiding the frontal charge, then Cloud swiveled on his legs to slice the air from his blade in a horizontal motion in an attempt to mow him down. 

Reno dodged the assault once again, hopping out of range. 

Cloud got back into a guard position ready to deliver another blow, again, deftly avoided by his opponent. He hadn't brought Reno here to make him dance, he would have to act accordingly.

Cloud held his sword in one hand then charged Reno with a shoulder to send him hard against the brick wall. Before the redhead realizes what's happening to him, he pressed the edge of his blade against his throat to immobilize him. 

In its collision with the wall, Reno's baton hung miserably on his left wrist held in by his strap. The young man conceded somewhat disoriented. “I lost?” 

“Not yet.” Cloud's gaze was bright, fiery, elated as he kept the pressure on Reno's neck as he swallowed. He wanted to push him to his limits, he had to make sure he wasn't mistaken about the young man's account. 

Reno had never seen such a look in his client. He waved his left wrist to catch the rod in midair before pressing the end of it against the swordsman's side. Without sending an electric shock, he simply maintained his position by trying to be a simple deterrent. 

Cloud urged him on. “DO IT!” 

“It's not necessary… It must be painful or worse...” Reno stammered, baffled that the other was yelling at him now. 

Seeing that Reno was unable to give the final assault and defend himself, Cloud grabbed him by the shoulder to lift him off the wall and pushed him back into the center of the room, placing again his sword between them. “Let's proceed.” 

Reno adjusted his grip on the handle, following with his eyes the electricity which was now concentrated on the end of the cylinder and he straightened up to face Cloud. He raised the rod and sent an electric orb toward Cloud, who swept it aside with his buster sword, deflecting the trajectory of the sphere. 

Reno created more bluish orbs which now gravitated in the air and filled the back of the room, pushing the other man into a corner. Cloud moved apart the orbs with his sword, stirring the air to drift them in various directions. The electrified spheres consumed themselves upon contact with the wall or ceiling. 

Reno continued to attack and shake the baton in front of him to generate new orbs. Cloud didn't give up. He sprang up and slid to the ground beneath the new orbs suspended in the air and skirted them, then swept Reno's feet to knock him to the ground. He straightened up on his legs and placed the tip of his sword under Reno's chin, looking down on him with a satisfied gaze.

Reno had landed heavily on his side. Scraping the floor with his EMR to place the end against the flat side of the blade, he released a full discharge. The energy was powerful enough to lift the heavy sword, leaving enough space to allow Reno to depart from the floor and leap to his feet before charging awkwardly Cloud, swinging the rod forward. 

Cloud parried the attack with his sword, the edge of his blade screeched against the cylinder of the Electro Magnetic Rod.

There followed several passes while Cloud merely parried with ease all the blows from Reno. The cylinder of the EMR clashed at every assault against the edge of the blade and produced sparks and blue filaments. 

Reno put more ardor in his attacks as he advanced to Cloud without managing to break his defense. Electricity flowed around the stick and on the edge of the blade that it encountered with each new assault... The fight dragged on.

This time, Cloud decided to vary the enjoyment by lowering the large blade to counterattack. Reno's EMR greeted the blade with a thud to ward off, but his wrist flinched as it was surprised by the strength of the stroke. The pain irradiated down his arm to his fingertips, making him drop the rod to the ground. 

Taking advantage that Reno was destabilized by the backlash, Cloud slipped his free hand on the young man's neck. He now looked at him with a pleased look. Reno finally showed him what he wanted but it was still missing something, he needed more and he would help him. He tightened the grip on his throat. 

Reno felt his feet lift off the ground and his breath missing as he gasped under the fingers that tightened his neck. He gripped Cloud's wrists to try desperately to free himself while the blond man's smile widened as he saw him stir. 

He had initially estimated that Cloud didn't intend to hurt or attack him. Cloud only wanted to make sure he was fit enough to use this weapon, that's what he said and that's what he had done so far. He knew he could have been killed the moment he crossed the doorstep. But now, Reno was beset by doubt, Cloud had decided to kill him. That was the perfect place, no one for miles around to hear him, even though he began to scream to death. Little by little his gaze was clouded, no longer able to breathe.

Cloud leaned forward to press his lips to Reno's ear. He slipped barely audible words into it. 

At these prompts, the teenager opened huge horrified eyes and felt his heart race. He pulled his penknife out of his pants pocket then slicing off the wrist of the one who was blocking his breathing. In a desperate attempt to push him back, Reno pressed the heels of his shoes against the man's legs. 

The redhead continued to slash his wrist with the small knife until he decided himself to release him. Reno hadn't even been able to hurt him, indeed he had barely nicked the thick leather of his black glove. 

The smallest staggered back under the strain. Releasing the penknife to the ground, Reno fell heavily to his knees, panting, hardly catching his breath and leaning on his hands.

Cloud came back to attack him with his sword, giving him no respite. Reno had picked up his EMR and planted it in front of him, in a desperate try. Holding it in both hands to stick it into the stony ground, he pressed the trigger and sent an electric shock.

Electricity circulated around the stick, then concentrated and spread under their feet. The two men froze over the EMR before undergoing the impact, being thrown back at each end of the room. 

Cloud let himself be surprised, forcing him to release his sword and landing on his legs a few yards away to avoid suffering the shock wave. As Reno landed hard on his back on the opposite side. 

Cloud cursed and bent down to pick up his sword from the ground before putting it behind his back. 

Reno rolled painfully on his side, crawling on the ground and managed to stand up on his knees, holding a shaking hand toward the rod still stuck in the ground. He had to get it back if he wanted to have a chance to survive. 

Cloud immediately stopped the redhead's last attempt and gave him a powerful kick in the collarbone to send him crashing heavily on his back before he had time to touch the weapon.

He pulled out his gun from the holster hidden under his jacket and pointed the barrel at Reno lying on the floor, now watching him with a satisfied look. 

He kept aiming at him as Reno put his hand on his collarbone. One arm barring his heaving chest, trying to calm his erratic breath, convinced he was going to die.

Still holding his bruised collarbone, Reno picked up his knife with his free hand, pointing the blade at Cloud in warning, unable to raise his arm to give more weight to his threat. He kept his eyes on Cloud as he clenched his fist sharply on the handle of the small knife before freezing when the blond man unhooked the safety catch of the gun, still staring at him with a steel blue gaze. 

Cloud aimed at Reno lying at his feet, pulled the trigger and fired.

The bullet ricocheted, far from Reno. Verdot stood in the doorway and didn't flinch when he heard the bullet whistle between his ear and the frame, finishing up into a wall. 

If his colleague wasn't a Turk, or at least his second in command, Verdot would have made him pay for his little sleight of hand, with his life. “Strife... So that's him, the potential rookie you told me about... He's certainly agile and smart.” 

Verdot looked at the young man, who had straightened up and remained seated on the floor, painfully catching his breath. He finally met the young man that Cloud looked after for a few months now. He didn't know if that justified his remaining gaps and absences in the office. The teenager didn’t really fit the job, he looked almost puny and must have been sixteen years old, maybe a bit older. Although Strife had moderated his strength and assaults, he got surprised. His sword had been temporarily removed from his hands during the fight. 

It was evident that the young man would not have survived in real conditions and even less if he had stood in the way of a Turk. However, with tough training, he could develop some potential. Verdot left, concluding. “He's too young for now, we'll discuss in a few years.”

Verdot sincerely thought so. Enter in Turks involved many sacrifices and in these times of crisis, there were lack of staff, but he refused to impose this life and these constraints to a young man so soon. But apart from that, he had just received the telescopic rod and he already mastered some of the specifics of the weapon and its materia. “Strife, you can give him the EMR.”

Reno didn't know how long the old man had been there. He briefly had time to notice his presence that he was already leaving. All that Reno remembered was he also wore a dark suit. 

“I didn't think what I said earlier.” 

Reno paid attention to Cloud, as he was still sitting on the floor holding his shoulder. Eyes narrowed in a dark gaze. Despite the man’s threats, he would never join ShinRa. 

***

Cloud was driving very slowly and looking at the road rather than his passenger. Reno hadn't said anything since they left the warehouse, and hadn't commented on their offer yet. 

“The work is hard, but in return we’re paid enough and we live quite comfortably… You could put all these kids to shelter without needing to take care of them.” 

Reno just ignored the turk and sank deeper into the passenger seat. He didn't even know what exactly the man's "job" was. All he knew was Cloud was dressed like all those downtown loafer who worked in offices, and he wasn't interested to learn why he needed to be armed. No matter the job, he wasn't interested, the so-called wealth and comfort didn't matter to him. He would never accept their proposal, he despised it. 

And then, in addition to this odious blackmail, he was trying to get his sympathy by talking about his family. Considered Reno, his thoughts clouding in a whirlwind of anger. 

All he wanted to do was come home and rest, each part of his body ached. Reno huffed disdainfully, pointing to the speedometer. “And why you take lots of detours? Just because I've never been so far from Midgar in my life, doesn't mean I don't know the way. And why you drive so slowly! I want to go home! I'll end up believing you enjoy my company, _creep_.” 

Keeping a perpetually neutral face, Cloud firmly stepped on the accelerator to pick up speed on the uncrowded country road. His gloved hands tightly clutching the steering wheel, he ignored the arrow on the speedometer going crazy on the dashboard and allowing the vehicle to accelerate to its full capacity.

Reno dug his nails into the leather of his seat, bitterly regretting his words as he stared distraught at the road.

The Turk squeezed the brake pedal to stop the car, letting his passenger to crash against the dashboard. Ignoring Reno, who barely had time to fold his arms to keep his head from hitting the ebony wood tablet, he contained a smirk. Cloud started the car again, enjoying now Reno's eyes wide with terror. 

Reno took a deep breath to regain composure, slipping again in the seat, sinking into silence and biting his lip so as not to start insulting his driver. 

Eyes narrowed with smug, Cloud drove properly again. The Turk much preferred that kind of attention than being ignored or lectured by the fiery redhead. “I leave you some time to consider our offer…” 

Arrived at the entrance of the village, Reno wanted to shout to his driver to go fuck himself and that he could retrieve his rod to stick it deep in the ass if he hoped to get a favorable response from him, that he wasn't allowed to return to his shop, nor to set foot in this place again...but he did nothing. He feared the unpredictable reactions of his interlocutor. Cloud could kill him before even he could open his mouth. 

As for these threats, they turned his blood cold. 

Reno rushed out of the car, slamming the door behind him and crossed the central square without looking back, his Electro Magnetic Rod hitting the side of his thigh, the leather strap attached to his belt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to daddy Veld~

**Author's Note:**

> I'm posting the fic called "This means war with your creator" that I wrote in French at summer 2020.
> 
> Little action in this first chapter, but it was necessary to set the scene and introduce some of the characters. A fancy car for Cloud, I had to give him a vehicle to honor the Daytona in the remake or his Fenrir. 
> 
> By the way, all the drawings from this fic are mine and made by myself.  
> 


End file.
